


Sacrifice for the Sun

by WritinRealSlow



Category: Original Work
Genre: Alcohol, Asexual Character, Blood, Original Fiction, References to Aztec Religion & Lore, Talking Animals, himbo warning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-22
Updated: 2020-05-22
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:34:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,343
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24325843
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WritinRealSlow/pseuds/WritinRealSlow
Summary: Calisto just wants to sleep in and enjoy his day off, but an annoying hummingbird and a drunken mistake from the night before just won't let that happen.
Relationships: Original Female Character/Original Male Character
Comments: 1
Kudos: 2





	Sacrifice for the Sun

Sacrifice for the Sun

“Wake up, young Calisto! The Sun has long since risen! You must face his glory with a warrior’s grace!”  
“Mneh.” I waved my hand around my head, refusing to open my eyes as the shrill voice commanded. It had been a long, long night and I wasn’t anywhere near ready to face what came after. “Lemme lone. Ffffive murr min… minu… hours.”  
The voice gasped. “You would dare strike at me? Have at you then!”  
“Ow ow! Stop pecking at me!” Desperate to hold on to what little sleepiness I had left, I pulled my blanket back up over my head. “Go away, Tenoch!”  
“Awaken! Your magic obsidian slate calls for you, you must awaken!”  
I growled and sat up, throwing my pillow in his general direction. I missed, of course. It’s hard to hit a hummingbird, even when you’re not groggy and sleep deprived.  
“Hah!” He pipped, zig-zagging through the air and frilling his orange crest in triumph. “You shame our house with your aim!”  
“Shut up!” I yelled, tossing my second pillow to a similar effect. “Just shut up for five minutes and I’ll check my damn phone!”  
“Finally, you listen to reason! We’ll make a proper warrior of you yet!”  
I ignored him and snatched up my phone. He’d been right about one thing, it had certainly been “calling for me.” Five missed calls, three voice mails and several dozen messages accompanied the usual smattering of Snapchat, Facebook and Tumblr notifications that usually crowded the top of my screen every morning, most of the latter being asks and responses to my art blog, possibly a commission or two, if I was lucky. Outside of my job at Dominos, commissions were where I (hopefully) made the extra money I needed for fun and personal time.  
“Well, you weren’t wrong.” I muttered, scrolling through the messages first. “Though I’m surprised so many people were up so early on a Sunday.” It was the afternoon already, but my days off always started late. It’s called rewarding yourself.  
The recordings were mostly incoherent babbling, fitting for the apparent call time of three in the morning. The messages weren’t much easier to decode, but I got the gist of it when I got to Adrian’s one and only message of “Dude, did you seriously reject Kyra tonight?”  
“Fuck.” Clarity returned, as did the anxiety that comes with it. “Reject” might not be the exact word I’d use, but it wasn’t too far off. “Fuck.” I said again, louder this time. “Now I’ve got this to take care of.”  
“Unimportant!” Tenoch declared, flitting around my head. “Have you forgotten your obligation? We must prepare for the ritual!”  
“Oh for- I’m not sacrificing anybody to Witch-y poco-whatever! I’ve got more important things to worry about than my hallucination’s dead religious practices!  
“It’s Huitzilopochtli!” He cried, stabbing my hand again with his annoying little needle beak. “And nothing’s more important than his strength and continued battle!”  
I rolled my eyes. Tenoch only ever wanted one thing, and it was both disgusting and illegal. It had been just over a week since he’d appeared before me demanding blood sacrifices for the continued safety of the world at large, and once he’d stabbed me enough times to mostly convince me I wasn’t having a stress induced breakdown, I basically just continued on like nothing had changed, but now with an annoyingly bad conscience following me wherever I went, like Jiminy Cricket with a taste for blood. Surprisingly, it wasn’t helping my stress levels.  
“Well I can’t very well carry out a ritual on my own, now can I?” I reasoned, rolling out of bed and heading to the bathroom. “Now let me go repair my relationships and eat breakfast, and then we can talk about stabbing people with sharp things.”  
“Then we shall do so! But make haste, for the prophet box tells of-” I shut the door and turned on the water. If I was going to deal with the fallout from last night, then the first step was going to be a shower. Smelling like a functional adult is the first step towards fooling people into believing you are one.

Twenty minutes, half a bagel and a quick squirt of gel to keep my newly blue hair out of my face and I’d finally pulled on my hoodie, grabbed my bag and hopped on the light rail. I’d be heading to campus to sort things out with Adrian, who could hopefully act as my backup when it came to Kyra and her roommates, the latter of which were pissed, going off the messages they’d left promising everything from death to “just talking,” which I assumed was code for yelling. I appreciated that Kura wasn’t without friends to protect her, but I’d also never expected to be on the receiving end of that protection, and those girls didn’t know the meaning of half-measures.  
“You appear to be more worried about this ‘Kyra’ than the ritual.” Tenoch piped from his hiding place in my hood. I suspected he stayed there for comfort more than secrecy, almost nobody reports weirdos on the train. The worst I could expect is showing up on someone’s Instagram alongside all the other train-based degenerates. “You must care for her.”  
“She’s a good friend.” The first and only new friend I’d made since moving here, in fact. An old woman sitting across from me gave me a funny look. I smiled innocently at her. “And either get out here or shut up. I’d rather be the person who talks to birds than who talks to himself.”  
“Coyolxauhqui may have spies everywhere.” He replied, but still edged his way onto my shoulder. “And will people not think it strange?”  
“It’s public transport on a weekend.” I said, pulling out my phone to message Adrian. “People have seen far worse and reacted far better.”  
They may have seen worse, but people still stare. And stare they did, all the way up to and after I got off the train. It might have helped if I’d stopped talking to the bird on my shoulder, but at this point there was no way to ignore him. And my face was far more vulnerable to pecking than the rest of me.  
From there it was only a short walk to campus, and then a shorter, but considerably more tiring trip up the eighteen flights of stairs it took to get to Adrian’s room. Because I’m an idiot who promised to start exercising more, and my best friend was a freak who could smell the laziness on me.  
Our friendship is weird like that.  
Adrian answered the door wearing nothing but a pair of gym shorts, his usual attire when he’s either alone or just around me. Or when he’s showing off for…  
“You’re not alone, are you?”  
He pushed back his sandy hair with a blush. “You can tell?”  
I nudged him aside and sat down on his couch, claiming my usual spot on the leftmost cushion. “You’re half-naked, sweaty, and your afternoon workout isn’t for another two hours. Not hard to figure out.”  
Unlike me, Adrian was an inhuman freak who woke up early on weekends to give himself more time to work out. One trip to the gym in a week was enough for me, but he made sure to go twice a day on the weekends. He was a monster. A monster who seemed to have a disproportionately active sex life. Gross.  
“Showing off again?”  
As if to prove me right, the recipient of his show called out to him, appearing in the doorway.  
“Adrian, are you coming back to… oh.” I could practically hear her narrow her eyes. “It’s you.”  
Oh goody. “Hello Morgan.” I said, giving Kyra’s roommate a little wave. “Fancy seeing you here.”  
Morgan wrapped her curly, charcoal hair around her finger and glared at me. “Don’t you ‘hello’ me, you heartless son of a bitch. Do you have any idea what you did last night?”  
“I’m sure you’d let me know either way.” I replied, turning over to place my chin on the armrest. “Speaking of last night, I’m sure it went well for you two, considering you’re here and not-”  
“OKAY!” Adrian yelped, throwing himself between us in a desperate bid to control the chaos. “Let’s just be cool and nice about this!”  
Hmm, good lighting. Wish I’d brought graphite, that pose would be good practice.  
Morgan appeared to admire his pose too, but most people had that reaction. I think. They could be admiring a different aspect. Admittedly, there was a lot there to admire.  
Adrian was built like a brick shithouse, had been since he started working out in middle school. And then he got that last growth spurt in high school that set him right around six and a half feet. His size had been one of the greatest contributors to his football scholarship, about on par with his genuine skill at the game. If you can really call carrying a ball and fracturing people’s spines with a flying body slam a “skill.” The school seemed to think so.  
His body, in short, was an example of naturally sculpted art, contoured by the hand of a master. Also, I’m told he has “rockin’ cheekbones”. Not my words.  
I sighed. “Fine, I’ll play nice.” I raised an eyebrow at the drooling Morgan. “I assume you can do the same?”  
She frowned and shook her head. “I’m plenty nice. And you don’t need to ‘play nice’ with me, because I’m not staying.”  
She brushed past Adrian, whose brain stalled until she got to the door. “Morgan, wait!”  
“You need better friends, Adrien. Talk to me when he’s not around anymore!” And with that she slammed the door, leaving the two of us alone.  
“So...” I said after a moment of silence. “Gonna put a shirt on?”  
“That wasn’t cool, dude.” Adrian looked so disappointed in me. He walked out of the room, returning a moment later in a sleeveless shirt, emblazoned with the words “MUSCLES! BIG MACHO!” in identically comic font. “You shouldn’t be so rude to girls.”  
I threw up my hands. “What, she started it! I came here for your help with Kyra, I didn’t know you were doing anything special!”  
His face went flush. “We weren’t! She and Kyra slept here last night since they were too drunk to drive!”  
Oh god. “She’s not here, is she?” Totally calm voice. Yup, I wasn’t panicking.  
He shook his head. “Nah, she left a few hours ago. Said she wanted to be alone.” He frowned, then sat down next to me. “What happened anyway? She was really upset. Same with Morgan and Zoey.”  
“What did happen?” Tenoch whispered, making me jump. I’d completely forgotten he was even here.  
“I- Well Kyra…” I sighed and began tracing shapes on the arm of the couch with my finger. “This is probably going to sound bad.”  
“Dude, you can tell me anything. I promise I won’t get mad.”  
Heard that one before. “Okay, so remember how we were all at the bar last night? Well I went to the bathroom, and when I came out, Kyra was there. And she uh… she told me…”  
Adrian leaned forward. “Yeah?”  
“Reveal your secret!” Tenoch hissed. He almost sounded eager.  
“She told me she really liked me and wanted to go out. And I didn’t say yes.”  
Adrian put his hand over his mouth. “So you DID reject her!”  
“No!” I yelled. “I told her we were already out!”  
“Uhh… what?”  
“And then she laughed and asked if I was too drunk to understand, which I think was a little unfair, she’d had just as much to drink as I did, it’s not like she had the clearest mind at the time either!”  
Adrian made a placating gesture. “Okay bro, calm down. That really doesn’t sound-”  
“And so I said probably, and she laughed again and said she liked my honesty!” The words were just falling out now, the memory growing fresher with each passing second. “And then she said she meant she wanted to date me, girlfriend and boyfriend stuff, her words! And then my brain froze, and I told her I had to think about it and I left.”  
I sat breathing heavily for a moment, watching as Adrian processed my words, the look on his face growing more and more worried.  
“What did you tell her?”  
Deep breath. “I told her I needed time to think about it.”  
“And then you left?”  
“And then I left.”  
He just stared at me. I was worried he’d be mad at me or call me stupid or really anything similar to Morgan or Zoey or the imaginary arguments I’d constructed in my head on the way here, but he didn’t. He just looked concerned.  
I took another deep breath and smiled hopefully. “But it’s probably not that bad, right?”  
“Calisto, oh dude.” That was a no. That was a very sad, very clear “no.”  
I put my hands in my face. “Be honest, how fucked am I?”  
“You gotta talk to her. You gotta talk to her asap.”  
I groaned. “God, I do, don’t I? This is gonna suck.”  
“Yeah.” He said, patting my shoulder. “Yeah it is.”  
We didn’t speak for a minute, just sitting there miserably, when Tenoch screeched and shot out of my hood, zipping around to hover in front of my face.  
“Enough of this moping!” He… well I want to say “bellowed,” but he was a little too small to describe that way. But it was in the spirit of bellowing that he made his announcement. “You waste precious time with your misery while the solution remains simple! Explain yourself, young Calisto! Explain why you do not just talk to this woman, why you do not simply fix this and allow us to move on to the ritual! Explain!”  
I dragged my fingers down my face with a groan. “God, not now you spangled coquette nightmare! Why can I not escape you?!”  
“Escape me?!” He pipped back, pecking my nose with what I assume he deemed righteous fury. “You cannot escape your duty!”  
“God in heaven, I wish I could just throw you out the fucking-”  
“That bird is talking to you.”  
We both turned to look at Adrian, who’d pressed himself against the other side of the couch.  
“Huh?”  
He pointed in disbelief. “That’s a hummingbird. And it’s talking to you. That’s a talking hummingbird.”  
“I know!” I groaned. “The hard part is getting him to STOP talking, otherwi-” I paused, and looked at my friend. Then back to Tenoch. “Huh. So you are real.”  
“Of course I am! How can you doubt your own senses? How can you deny the truth when it presents itself before you?”  
I shook my head. “I honestly don’t know how to explain that to you.”  
“You’re talking to the bird.”  
“Yes, Adrian.” I replied, rolling my eyes. “I’m talking to the bird. He kind of demands my attention, in case that slipped your notice.” I frowned. “You okay?”  
“Y-yeah. Just need a sec. Processing.” He took a deep breath, drumming his fingers on his arms. After a moment, he looked away, looked back, squeezed his eyes shut, counted to ten, then opened them again.  
I waved. “Still here buddy.”  
“Correct, we ARE still here!” Tenoch said, flitting through the air between us. “We are still here, when we should be preparing the ritual! We must give strength to Lord Huitzilopochtli before it is too late!”  
Adrian blinked. “Okay, so this little dude keeps mentioning a ritual. What… is it with that?”  
I shrugged. “Aztec mythological thing. Tenoch wants me to make a blood sacrifice to keep the moon from eating the sun.” I waved my hand. “Basically all he talks about, really.”  
“And you didn’t think to bring this up before now because…?”  
“I feel my friendship with Kyra is more important than the delusions of a three-inch cultist. Plus he’s annoying. Really annoying.”  
“Delusions?!” Tenoch screeched. “How dare you-”  
“Dude!” Adrian shouted. “I think the fact that a hummingbird is talking to you should be enough to move this up the priority list!”  
“I didn’t even know if he was a hallucination or not!” I yelled back. “I could have been seeing things all week, I didn’t fucking know!”  
“HE’S BEEN HERE FOR A WEEK?!”  
“THE RITUAL MUST TAKE PLACE BEFORE THE ECLIPSE TOMORROW!” Tenoch screamed, latching onto my nose. “COYOLCAUHQUI MUST NOT WIN!”  
“WHY IS THERE AN ECLIPSE TOMORROW?” I shrieked, snatching him off my face and tossing him onto the couch. “WHY CAN’T I JUST TALK TO KYRA AND GO HOME?!”  
Adrian just screamed in response. It would be a while before any of us calmed down enough to do anything again.

We stared at the door before us, utterly unremarkable other than the fact it belonged to our friend. Also, there was a wooden “Welcome” sign hanging from the doorknob.  
“Okay,” I began, pausing to blow on my burger. “So we need just need to explain to Kyra that my running out was a drunken mistake, apologize, and then we can all pretend nothing ever happened.”  
“And what about the whole ‘end of the world’ thing?” Adrian asked around a mouthful of fries. “That seems pretty important.”  
Tenoch bobbed his head. “Yes, what about that? It is important.”  
“I promise we’ll get to it.” I said, slightly muffled by the beef in my mouth. “But I can’t focus on a solution for it if I’m constantly worried about fixing my friendship! Just stay quiet for now. Kyra comes first, the moon eating the sun comes tomorrow.”  
“Probably literally.” Adrian added.  
“Fine.” Tenoch grumbled. “But we will have words about your priorities.”  
“Please shut up.” I knocked twice, rung the doorbell once. “Hopefully they’ll at least give us a-”  
Morgan opened the door, scowled at me, then slammed it. “Go away.” She yelled. “Nobody wants you here!”  
“-Chance.”  
“Wow,” Adrian whistled, an impressive feat, given the food in his mouth. “She didn’t even say hi. She’s really pissed off.”  
Anger, rising. “Thanks. I noticed.” I knocked on the door again. Okay, so I pounded on it. Can you blame me, it was a stressful day. “Open up, Morgan!” I yelled back. “She’s my friend too, and we need to talk!”  
“Fuck off creep!” came another, higher pitched voice. That would be Zoey. I’d recognize that screech anywhere. “You’re a douchebag and we hate you!”  
“Oh my god, SHUT UP!” I yelled back, kicking the door. “Stop calling me names and let me talk to Kyra, you bitch!”  
Adrian shushed me. “Dude, not cool! And you’re making a scene!”  
“Don’t care!”  
“Break down the door!” Tenoch supplied. “They cannot keep you out without it!”  
“What the- NO! Don’t break the door, you’ll just be the bad guy!”  
“I’m not breaking down the door!” I growled, slamming my fist on it again. “I just need them to stop being unreasonable!”  
“He’s going to break down the door!” Zoey screamed, drowning out even Tenoch’s continued insistence we force our way in. “CALL THE COPS!  
“I just said I WASN’T doing that!”  
“Enough! Put down the phone Zo, I’ll talk to him.”  
Adrian’s face brightened. “Oh hey, that’s-”  
The door opened and there stood Kyra in a purple, oversized, off the shoulder sweatshirt, her kinky braids tied up into a tight bun. She gave us a tired once-over and leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed. “Hey guys.”  
“H-hey.” I said.  
“Heya!” Adrian said, giving a little salute. “You look nice!”  
She chuckled and winked at him. “Funny, I feel like garbage.” Then she looked at me.  
“Hey.” I said again.  
“You said that already,” she sighed. “What do you want?”  
“I um… I-” I held up the bag of fast food. “Burgers. I brought them. Talk?”  
Kyra raised an eyebrow. “A bribe then. Thought a little food would help make up for last night?”  
“Well no, but… I mean…” Just talk like a normal person. You do it every day, it’s not that hard! “I just wanted… sorry?”  
Kyra stared at me for one… two… three seconds before sighing and taking the bag from my hand. “This had better be a double, I haven’t eaten anything all day.”  
She turned to go, we didn’t follow. I just looked to Adrian, who looked as confused as me.  
“That means come in, guys. We can talk in my room.”  
My legs almost buckled as the tension left them. “Oh thank god.” I wanted to lie down right there, maybe stare at the ceiling for an hour or two. Instead, we followed her in, ducked past the resentful glares of her roommates, and closed the door behind us, finally able to explain the night before and hope she wasn’t as upset with me as everyone else. Yaaaaay.

“So,” she began, digging out a fry and pointing it at me. “What did you want to say? Must be important, you nearly started a war on my front step to talk to me.” I thought about it. She ate the fry.  
“I… wanted to explain about last night.” I spoke slowly, choosing each word carefully. “About why I acted like that.”  
“I’d assumed it was a moment of drunken panic, brought about by your inability to process what I said.” She ate another fry, tapping her chin while she chewed. “You’re not the most functional drunk I’ve ever met.”  
My face grew hot again, which I hid behind my food. Adrian leaned in, slowly unwrapping his burger. I eyed him. He leaned back again.  
“That’s not it. I mean, it kind of is. But also no.” I shook my head, trying to pull my thoughts together. “Rrrgh! It’s hard to explain!”  
“Hold that thought.” She held up a finger, walked over to her door and threw it open. Morgan and Zoey were sort of just awkwardly standing there, cupped ears to the air.  
Zoey giggled nervously.  
Morgan gave a little wave.  
Kyra massaged her forehead. “Guys, this is kind of private. Could you give us a moment?” She looked to us. “Adrian, keep them company for me?”  
“Me?” He fumbled his burger and it fell into his lap. “Uh, sure. If that’s what you want. I can be good company.” He hopped up, sending the burger flying and my eyes rolling as he awkwardly picked it back up and edged out of the room, barely fitting through the narrow doorway.  
“Take off your shirt,” I advised to the closing door. “it’s a great distraction!” The last thing I saw was his look of accusing panic as Kyra closed the door, leaving the two of us alone. Well, three if you counted the weirdly quiet Tenoch, still nestled away in my hood.  
Satisfied, Kyra nodded. “There, that should keep them busy.”  
“Ick.”  
“Not like that. Now then,” she sat next to me. Right next to me. Face-to-face next to me. “Explain.”  
It took everything I had not to lean away. For a nursing student, she wasn’t exactly comforting. “Hoo boy, where to start?”  
She raised a brow. “The beginning, if it’s not too hard.”  
“Ha, right!” I chuckled, definitely not terrified. “The beginning. So it all started last week, when a hu- when someone started staying at my house. And stressing me out. For a whole week.” Not lying, also not sounding crazy. A good start, I hoped.  
Her face was blank. “And this connects to last night how?”  
I made some panicked approximation of a shrug. “You know, just more stress on top of school and work and all that. It’s been going on all week, and then the weekend came, and we got drunk and you confessed and I-”  
Kyra widened her eyes. “Are you saying I’m stressing you out? Was I just being part of your problem, Cal? Is that it?”  
“What? No! I’m just trying to explain that I haven’t been in the best mindset and the timing was just kind of bad and-”  
“So it’s my fault then?” Kyra pushed herself up and glared down at me. “So I just shouldn’t have told you, hm? Shouldn’t have bothered the oh so stressed out Calisto?”  
“Christ, no! The problem is me! I’m just trying to tell you… uh.” I ran my fingers through my hair. I’d been so sure she’d be angry, but I’d never thought through what to do when we actually spoke, aside from explaining the real reason I’d turned her down. But no, I wasn’t ready for that just yet.  
“What?! What are you trying to tell me? Spit it out Calisto, or do my feelings mean nothing to you?” She had every right to be as angry as she was, but her accusations still hurt.  
Faced with my enraged friend bearing down on me, I’m ashamed to say I lost my nerve. Without thinking, I snatched Tenoch from my hood and held him out, as if it would protect me.  
“ASK HIM!”  
“WHAT DO YOU MEAN ASK THE BIRD?!” She roared.  
“UNHAND ME THIS INSTANT CUR! SHOW SOME RESPECT FOR YOUR ANCESTORS!”  
Kyra froze. I froze. Tenoch squirmed and pecked his way free and hovered before Kyra’s face.  
“Woman!” he trilled. “I demand you cease your assault and provide assistance in our sacred duty! Will you agree?”  
Kyra stared at the talking bird in silence for what felt like an hour before she pulled back, opened up her door and called out “Adrian? Could you come back here please?”  
“Coming! He called, appearing moments later, shirtless and panting. “What can I…” he trailed off, eyes fixing on Tenoch. “Ah. Cat’s out of the bag?”  
I’d never been happier to see my half-naked friend in my life. “Yeah.” I whimpered, collapsing onto the bed. “We should probably explain.”  
Kyra shut the door behind Adrian and sat down in her desk chair, eyes never leaving the flitting menace. “Please.”  
And so we did.

“Huitzilopochtli.” Kyra repeated slowly, one syllable at a time. “Who is the sun god that requires bloody human sacrifice so he can keep fighting the moon goddess, kwalshodown.”  
“Coyolxauhqui.” Tenoch corrected.  
“Right, that thing you said. The moon goddess, who is just a head, because Huitzilopochtli cut it off.”  
“Because she and her four hundred brothers cut the head off Coatlique, the earth goddess and mother of everyone involved. Because she gave birth to Quetzalcoatl and Xolotl after being impregnated by a ball of feathers.”  
“A reasonable reaction.” She still hadn’t stopped staring.  
“In what world? Anyway, Coyolxauhqui’s head is still alive and fighting the sun, and he needs sacrifice so he can keep going, otherwise the moon kills him and the stars destroy the rest of Coatlique, which is the world.”  
Adrian raised his hand. “Wait, why the stars?”  
“Because they’re the four hundred brothers that Huitzilopochtli also killed.” I sighed. “That sound right, Tenoch?”  
“Simplified,” he acknowledged. “but not wrong.”  
“And this is all from Aztec mythology?” Kyra asked, looking very tired. “And it’s real?”  
“That is the assumption we reached, based off the talking hummingbird that keeps demanding blood for the blood god.”  
“He has many titles!”  
Adrian raised his hand. “Wait, does that mean other religions are wrong? Or are there more gods out there, or is it a ‘all gods rule under capital G God thing?”  
I rubbed my eyes. “Please. Just please don’t bring that up right now. Thinking about that’ll just give me a panic attack.”  
“And you’ve been dealing with this all week?” Kyra rubbed her face. “No wonder you’ve been stressed.”  
Adrian nodded. “And the eclipse is tomorrow.”  
“And the eclipse is tomorrow. Fuck me.” Kyra grabbed her pillow and screamed into it, a scream longer than I though possible for someone as chill as she normally was. She screamed one more time, then tossed it aside, now as calm as if she were in class. “So. What’s the plan?”  
“Sacrifice of course!” Guess who suggested that.  
“Not sacrifice.” I corrected. “And there is no plan yet. At least, no plan that doesn’t include getting arrested for murder.”  
“Because sacrifices are illegal.” Adrian clarified.  
“I still don’t understand that.” Tenoch huffed, landing on Adrian’s head. “You allow your blue warriors to kill for the safety of the community, what makes the safety of the world different?”  
“There is not enough time in the day to crack open that nut.” I replied, kneading a pillow in my hands. If only I could get out my sketchbook, I’d at least be able to keep my hands busy while we thought. “Long story short, the answer is no.”  
Kyra raised her hand. “The main thing is that he needs blood, right?”  
“Yes.”  
“Then why not use our own blood?”  
I froze. “What?”  
She shrugged. “We can just fill some blood bags, climb somewhere high, then stab them as an offering. No dead body, easy to obtain, simple cleanup.”  
I just stared at her.  
“Holy shit,” Adrian whispered. “That’s genius.”  
I turned to the bird. “Tenoch?”  
“It does not carry the spirit of the ritual,” he grumbled, picking at Adrian’s head with his feet and eliciting a small “ow.” “But I believe it may work. It is better than nothing, at the very least.”  
“Good enough for me!” I looked back to Kyra. “And you can help us with this, right?”  
“Nursing program.” She replied. “Meet me tomorrow morning, we’ll be ready before noon.”  
And just like that, the weight on my mind spread its wings and took to the sky. “I love you.”  
She scoffed. “Easy there, don’t think we’re done talking. After this whole… THING,” she waved her hands in a circle. “Is over, we finish our talk. Clear?”  
“Crystal.” I stood up. “Meet you tomorrow then?”  
“You’d better. Turns out the fate of the world is in our hands.”  
“Always wanted to be a hero,” Adrian said, following me out the door. “Just never thought it would involve so much mythology.”

“Damn, the nursing department’s got funding.” I whistled appreciatively, casting my gaze around the room we’d been smuggled into. “The art department can barely get the funding to fix a paper cutter, how the hell do you guys afford all these machines?”  
“Shush!” Kyra threw a furtive glance over her shoulder as she shut the door. “Don’t be so loud, this’s got to be a secret!  
I honestly didn’t know why she was bothering to be sneaky at this point. Putting my appearance aside, Adrian was the size of a bus. There was no way we hadn’t been seen by at least one person. Though I did understand her fear of getting in trouble, I wasn’t sure how legal any of this was. Take notes kids, this is why you learn to lie. Help a friend, screw the truth.  
Not to brag, but I’m of at least moderate intelligence. That’s why I refrained from telling her any of this and stuck to a simple nod. Wise beyond my years, that’s what I am.  
“So do we just stand around?” Adrian asked, fidgeting with his shorts. “I’ve never done this, so…”  
“I’ve never stolen the use of a blood-drawing machine either.” I replied, hopping up onto the donation bench-thing. “But I would assume it goes like any other donation.”  
“Ideally without as much surveillance.” Kyra added, hurrying around the room. “I told them it was part of my research project, but if they check into it I’m doomed. Now get on the table and relax!”  
We followed her instructions, lying back silently as she prepared. I relaxed, glad to have at least something go smoothly. I was especially relaxed thanks to Tenoch staying outside, despite the massive protest from our avian accomplice.  
“I must see the processing of the blood!” He’d argued passionately. “Diluting the purity of the blood could be detrimental to the ritual’s purpose!”  
I’d stood my ground. “Kyra’s got that on lockdown. Keep yourself busy for an hour and let her do her job!”  
The memory of that triumph would keep me warm for weeks.  
Kyra interrupted my thoughts. “Adrian, are you okay? You look pale.”  
I looked at my best friend. He was more than pale, his face was practically colorless. Kyra felt his forehead with one hand, and in the other held the massive needle of the machine.  
“Oh shit.” I muttered, only just now remembering an important detail.  
“What is it?”  
“Adrian has Trypanophobia. He’s terrified of needles!”  
“Damn.” Kyra hissed, looking into his eyes. He hadn’t responded, or even looked at her. His eyes were stuck on the utensil in her hand. “This complicates things.”  
I paused to think. “Can you just take extra from me? Maybe we can just skip him and make up for it with my blood.”  
She shook her head. “Not happening, I’m already taking two liters. Anymore and it’s dangerous.” She gripped her hair, brow wrinkled in frustration. “Maybe I could ask Morgan and Zoey to help? Not sure they’re free today though…” She started as Adrian grabbed her hand.  
“I can do it! Can’t let you guys do all the work if I wanna be a hero, right?” He wasn’t very convincing, but at least he’d stopped trembling.  
“Are you sure? If you’re scared, we can always find another-”  
“There’s no time! Just-” He gagged for a moment. “Just stick it in me! I can take it!”  
I couldn’t stand seeing him like this. “Just do me first.” I waved away his protest, admirable as it was. “Just take my blood first and give him time to steel himself.” I smiled at him. “I know he won’t let us down.”  
Reluctantly, everyone was able to agree to my plan, and it went by without too many complications, though I did end up having to let him grip my hand as the needle was applied and removed. In the end I was sure he’d crushed every bone to dust, but at least he’d made it through. And with the excuse of going to the vending machines for replenishing snacks, I left the room to cry about my broken hand where my friends couldn’t see me.  
I returned a little later, pop-tarts and orange juice in tow, but stopped in the middle of opening the door when I heard them mention me.  
“…Cal didn’t mean to hurt you, he was just drunk and awkward.”  
“I know that.” There was a clinking sound as I could only assume Kyra was cleaning up. “But I just… rejection is different for girls, you wouldn’t understand.”  
“How is it…?” I could imagine the look of confusion on Adrian’s face.  
“You wouldn’t understand. I just can’t get his expression out of my mind. Do you know how scared he looked when I told him? How much of that can really be from the alcohol?”  
“Cal’s awkward, always has been. I mean, he’s never had a girlfriend as long as I’ve known him. No boyfriend either. Heck, I don’t know if he’s even had any friends other than me and like, three other people. Not counting you.”  
It was true, I hadn’t had a lot of friends growing up. I wasn’t even entirely sure how I’d snagged Adrian as one, though from what I remembered it was mostly his idea at first. Not that it had been a problem, I just always felt a little out of place, not wanting or needing the kind of relationships everyone else seemed to crave. But the friends I’d made had never made me feel like I was, and for that I was always thankful.  
“So he’s never had a relationship?”  
“Nope, never seemed interested. But it’s cool, y’know? He’s a good friend, and that’s all I want from him.”  
She chuckled. “True enough, I guess. Speaking of, where is he? It’s been ten minutes and the vending machines are two away, tops.”  
Guess that was my cue. I casually opened the door, brandishing my ill-gotten gains. “Snack time.” I called, tossing a bottle to them both. “How’re we looking?”  
Kyra caught the bottle, took a drink, and gestured to the four newly filled blood-bags on the table. “We’re almost done. I convinced a classmate to help me draw my own, so I’ll be ready by tonight.” She took another sip. “You two should get going. Catch you at the eclipse party?”  
I grinned and held the door open for Adrian. “It’s a date then. Thanks for your help.”  
Kyra smacked my shoulder. “I’m not doing it for you, it’s for the world. I filled out every scholarship form known to man and put myself fifty-thousand dollars in debt to go to college, I’m not letting the world end before I get my reward.”  
“So selfless, so gracious.”  
“Leave.”  
“Leaving.” And we left. I peered at Adrian as we left. He looked better, though still a little pale. “You alright?”  
He nodded and tore into his snack. “Will be, just gotta forget the… thing.” He shuddered. “Thanks for the food, by the way.”  
“Thanks for being my friend.”  
“What?”  
“I said I can’t wait for this to end.” I looked away determined not to let him see my face flush. “One way or another, I guess tonight’s the end.”  
“Hey, it’ll all be okay.” He slapped my back. “We’re all working together, how bad could it really go?”

“Are you sure this is okay?” Adrian asked, squirming slightly as I applied the black paint around his eyes, following the designs I’d found on a museum webpage as best I could. He’d squirmed nonstop when I worked on his chest, so now I held his chin in one hand and forced him to hold the tray. “Isn’t this, like, cultural appropriation?”  
“Not really.” I squinted at my work. I wasn’t completely satisfied, but we didn’t have the time to start over. “We’re doing this as respectfully as possible, and considering I’m both Mexican and, according to the bird at least, an Aztek descendent, I’m giving the both of you permission to look ridiculous with me.” I’d painted my own face with black too and added splashes of red in front of each ear.  
Traditionally it was supposed to be done with my own blood, but I figured I’d donated enough to the cause to satisfy the hypothetical god. Beggars can’t be choosers, even among the divine.  
“You both look fine.” Kyra added, brushing his hair out of the way of my fingers. “’Sides, if anybody looks stupid, it’s me.”  
I gave her a look. She looked the best of us all. Sure, the yellow paint on her arms seemed like a bit much, when added to what was on her face, but Tenoch had instructed me thus and she looked absolutely beautiful, dark and bright, a painting just begging to be made.  
“How dare you say that about my friend.” I replied, wiping my hands on my discarded shirt. “I don’t tolerate lies during my sacrificial rituals, lady.”  
Adrian laughed. “Yeah Kyra, you look great! I think we all do!”  
Kyra snorted. “Stupid as in silly, you stupid boys. But yeah, we do.” She paused, frowning. “When is the thing supposed to start, anyway?”  
Adrian checked his phone. “Lesse, ten min- holy shit! Ten minutes! We gotta get the blood ready!”  
She nodded. “Cooler’s in my car, lets go grab it.” And they both took off, leaving me alone at the top of the hill we’d chosen for the ceremony.  
Tenoch popped out and hovered next to my head. For the first time in a while, he didn’t say anything. He just continued flapping, watching with me as my friends made their way back to Kyra’s car.  
“Hey, Tenoch?”  
“What is it, young Calisto?”  
“Why did you decide to bother me with this whole thing? I’ve got a pretty big family, and you could have gone to anybody else with this when I said no.” I was thinking of my distant cousins in prison, or my great uncle with a drinking problem. Heck, he probably could have asked someone a long time ago, before things got so apparently dire. So why choose me?  
He stayed silent for a moment, then flew over and perched on my head. “Because you were the first in an age that would let themselves see me.”  
“Let myself?” I raised a skeptical brow. “If I could stop myself, I wouldn’t be standing on a hill with no shirt on, waiting to stab a bag of blood during the eclipse.”  
He pecked me, though not as hard as usual. “Cease your sarcasm. What I meant is that you are the only one in your family that is open to the world. Artists like yourself, storytellers or those that make music, they open themselves up to the possibilities of the world. Unlike when I was a man, the people of this age wish to remain secluded from the gods and from the spirits of the world. You were the only one who would be open to the idea that I was real.”  
“Huh.” I didn’t know what to say to that. I did though, feel warm. “What about them though?” I motioned to Kyra and Adrian, who were making their way up the hill. “What about my non-artsy friends?”  
“A doctor is much like a priestess,” He replied, launching himself into the air again. “And as for the large one… I do not know. He may just be an open person, in his own way.”  
I smiled. “Probably. He’s a pretty great friend.” It was nice to know that Tenoch approved of him, of both of them. In his own, Tenoch-y way.  
“We got the blood!” Adrian called, running up with the cooler held over his head. “And with time to spare!” He’d barely broken a sweat.  
Kyra jogged up behind him. She was slightly less energetic.  
“How…” She panted, bracing her hands on her knees. “How are you not tired!” She took another second to breathe. “We ran UP the hill! And you’re carrying that!”  
He shrugged. “I exercise. It’s my whole thing.”  
“He’s right, it’s his thing.”  
She glared at us both. “Let’s just… let’s just get this over with. I need a shower.”  
“Alright,” I agreed. “Let’s go.”  
We got to work, laying the bags in a stack on a large rock we’d picked out and arranging ourselves in a circle with Tenoch hovering above. The ritual would have traditionally used an obsidian knife, but it also would have used a live person. We’d be using the homemade rock dagger that took me five hours to prepare the night before, and Huitzilopochtli would have to fucking make do. Saving the world isn’t glamorous when you’re on a budget.  
Completely set up, we waited. We waited in silence, eyes on the sky as the clock ticked down. Elsewhere in the world, I knew people would be gathering all over, watching what was surely a completely normal, awesomely cool celestial event while we stood here, half naked, waiting to possibly save the world at the behest of a talking bird.  
And they say Mondays are boring.  
The sky began to darken as the eclipse began. Though we couldn’t look directly at it, I watched from the corner of my eye as the moon began to cover the sun, black overtaking the familiar yellow.  
“The ritual!” Tenoch cried, flitting around our heads. “We must do it now!” Of course. I’d somehow forgotten what we were doing.  
“Great Lord Huitzilopochtli!” I called, holding the dagger with both hands. “Warrior of the Sun, protector of Earth! We offer our praise, that it might rally you! We offer our prayers, that they might be heard!” Was the earth shaking? It felt like it was shaking. My friends stared at me, eyes wide. Together, they placed their hands on the hilt, and together we intoned the last line, as we practiced. “And we offer our blood, that it may give you STRENGTH!”  
We brought the stone knife down and it tore through the bags one by one, the crimson flow gushing out over the rock, onto our hands, onto our feet. The knife sparked when it hit the rock beneath, and I had to look away, squeezing my eyes shut. I didn’t open them, not until Tenoch called out to us, several minutes later.  
Adrian spoke first. “Did… did it work?”  
“I don’t know.” I shook my head and wiped the sweat from my brow. The earth was still here, so that was a success. “Everyone okay?”  
“That. Was crazy.” Kyra shook her hands. “And nasty. We just got covered in our own blood. Not great practice for a future doctor.”  
“Congratulations!” Tenoch landed on my head, trumpeting the word with all the power his tiny lungs could provide. “Congratulations young ones! It is done! Our lord has accepted the sacrifice, and his strength has been replenished!”  
“Oh. Oh good.” I sat back on the grass. “Glad that’s over with.”  
“Indeed! We have done the world a great service!”  
Adrian sat next to me. “I feel gross. And there’s blood everywhere!” He sounded sick.  
Kyra chuckled and offered her hand, pulling us back up. “C’mon. I’ve got supplies in my car. Let’s get cleaned up.” She squinted at me. “You’ve got a smear on your forehead.”  
Thank god it was too dark for her to see me blush. “I’ll catch up.” I replied, resisting the urge to wipe it again. “I’ll clean up here quick. Don’t want someone walking by later and calling the cops.”  
Adrian gave a sickly smile. “Thanks dude. Imma get this stuff off me. I… really don’t feel good.” They both went back to the car, Kyra quietly soothing him along the way.  
I put the supplies back in the sack we’d brought them in, careful not to get paint or blood on anything important. I paused though, when picking up the spent blood bags. They were a mess, as was the knife, just like you’d expect.  
But the rock, the rock we’d stabbed them on? It was spotless. Not a drop of blood to be seen.

Kyra dropped Adrian off first, then pulled up to my place. Tenoch left as well, promising to return when he was needed once again. I hoped it wouldn’t be anytime soon. He finally flew off, and that left just me and Kyra, standing in front of my door.  
“So…” I said.  
“Time to come clean, Cal.”  
“Right, about the whole…. Rejection thing.”  
She crossed her arms. “I waited an extra day, illegally took blood, got painted, and stabbed the illegal blood for you. Spill it.”  
I took a deep breath. Welp. Here goes. “I like you, Kyra. I like you a lot. You’re one of my best friends, and I’m always glad to hang out with you.”  
“But?”  
“But I don’t think I can give you what you want in a relationship. Or what you deserve.”  
She looked at me in silence for a moment before sighing. “You’re gay, aren’t you? Damn it, this keeps happening!”  
I started. “What? No. I’m not gay. What do you mean it keeps-”  
“It’s okay if you are, I won’t judge. You’re still my friend.”  
Sigh. “Seriously Kyra. I’m not gay.” Though this would probably be easier if I was.  
She put up her hands. “Awright, if you say so.”  
I rubbed between my eyes. “I’m not gay. I mean, I don’t really have a preference either way, but I’m not Bi either.” Deep breath. “I’m asexual, Kyra. I don’t find anyone sexually attractive.”  
“Oh.” Well, I’d definitely surprised her with that one. “So you don’t…?”  
I groaned inside. Coming out was really annoying, so I just didn’t bother with most people. Even Adrian didn’t know, though he probably suspected something, having known me for so long. Still, I had to finish what I started.  
“I find the prospect of sex completely uninteresting, a little gross, even. I could probably do relationships, just definitely not sex.”  
She nodded slowly, a distant look in her eyes. “So when I told you I liked you, you really didn’t know how to respond.” She chuckled and shook her head. “Wow, the alcohol really didn’t help.”  
I grinned. “Sorry. For what it’s worth, I was happy to know you liked me. And I mean, I’ve never really tried a relationship before. We could always try, if you wanted.” It was just like being friends, right? Just with kissing and then taxes after you were together long enough.  
She shrugged. “I get you now.”  
“I’m sorry.”  
“Don’t be. For what it’s worth, I still like you.”  
“Oh.” I rubbed my arm, not sure what to do. “So does that mean you-” She put a finger over my lips.  
“It means…” She kissed my cheek and winked, then walked back to her car. “That I need some time to think about it.” And with that she got in her car, blew a kiss, and drove away.  
My cheeks burned as I watched her go, but for once, I didn’t care. And then I walked inside, determined to clean myself off. 

I woke up the next morning with a smile. I’d slept well, I felt good, and I was ready to get on with my life. Munching on a bagel, I sat down to start on the first of my precious few paid commissions, ironically enough of the Quetzalcoatl. I’d just begun on the feathers when a voiced piped in through the screen of my open window.  
“Greetings, young Calisto! The time is at hand for the quelling of Cipactli! A blood sacrifice is needed, to quell the great beast beneath our feet!”  
“No. Come back tomorrow.” I slammed the window shut, quieting his shrill threats for the rest of the afternoon.  
I didn’t care why he was back, and I didn’t care what he needed. Today was a me day, and no amount of world threatening gods would deprive me of one day to not deal with anything extra.

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this for my class this semester and I'm rather proud of it. It went on a little longer than I intended, but I think it was an overall positive endeavor.
> 
> Please tell me what you think, I'd love any feedback on my work.


End file.
